All aboard? Not everyone is

Rensselaer rail station marks 10 years, but not as an engine of change

Updated 10:41 pm, Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Photo: Cindy Schultz, Albany Times Union

Image 1of/19

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 19

Sam Zhou, New York State Department of Transportation Region 1 acting director, center, speaks during the 10th anniversary celebration at the Rensselaer Rail Station on Tuesday, Oct. 9. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Sam Zhou, New York State Department of Transportation Region 1 acting director, center, speaks during the 10th anniversary celebration at the Rensselaer Rail Station on Tuesday, Oct. 9. (Cindy Schultz / Times

An artist's rendering of the new Rensselaer Rail Station was on display during a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday, June 2, 1999. (Times Union archive)

An artist's rendering of the new Rensselaer Rail Station was on display during a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday, June 2, 1999. (Times Union archive)

Photo: JONATHAN FICKIES, DG

Image 7 of 19

The old Rensselaer Amtrak station, foreground, is dwarfed by the new CDTA Rail Station on Dec. 23, 1999. (Times Union archive)

The old Rensselaer Amtrak station, foreground, is dwarfed by the new CDTA Rail Station on Dec. 23, 1999. (Times Union archive)

Photo: JONATHAN FICKIES, DG

Image 8 of 19

Rebar is carried into position on the top level of the parking structure during construction of the Rensselaer Rail Station on July 31, 2000.

Rebar is carried into position on the top level of the parking structure during construction of the Rensselaer Rail Station on July 31, 2000.

Photo: JONATHAN FICKIES, DG

Image 9 of 19

Complete with a police escort, the copper dome is moved down Broadway in Rensselaer on Jan. 3, 2001.

Complete with a police escort, the copper dome is moved down Broadway in Rensselaer on Jan. 3, 2001.

Photo: JONATHAN FICKIES, DG

Image 10 of 19

Riggers guide the copper dome into position as it is lowered onto the glass tower on the Rensselaer Rail Station on January 3, 2001.

Riggers guide the copper dome into position as it is lowered onto the glass tower on the Rensselaer Rail Station on January 3, 2001.

Photo: JONATHAN FICKIES, DG

Image 11 of 19

Painters work inside the Rensselaer Rail Station on July 11, 2011. (Times Union archive)

Painters work inside the Rensselaer Rail Station on July 11, 2011. (Times Union archive)

Photo: JONATHAN FICKIES, DG

Image 12 of 19

Empire State Plaza is seen through a west-facing window and scaffolding inside the Rensselaer Rail Station on July 11, 2011.

Empire State Plaza is seen through a west-facing window and scaffolding inside the Rensselaer Rail Station on July 11, 2011.

Photo: JONATHAN FICKIES, DG

Image 13 of 19

A monitor welcomes passengers at the newly opened $53.1 million Rensselaer Rail Station in Rensselaer, N.Y. on Sept. 22, 2002. The 72,000-square-foot station recieved its first passengers more than three years after ground was broken.

Tim Rudzinski,who works at the Mohawk Valley Railroad Co., dresses as a conductor to mark the 10th anniversary celebration on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012, at the Rensselaer Train Station in Rensselaer, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union) less

Tim Rudzinski,who works at the Mohawk Valley Railroad Co., dresses as a conductor to mark the 10th anniversary celebration on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012, at the Rensselaer Train Station in Rensselaer, N.Y. (Cindy ... more

Sam Zhou, New York State Department of Transportation Region 1 acting director, center, speaks during the 10th anniversary celebration on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012, at the Rensselaer Train Station in Rensselaer, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union) less

Sam Zhou, New York State Department of Transportation Region 1 acting director, center, speaks during the 10th anniversary celebration on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012, at the Rensselaer Train Station in Rensselaer, ... more

RENSSELAER — It's been a decade since the newest Rensselaer CDTA rail station — the third passenger station on the site — opened, and on Tuesday morning public officials gathered to celebrate.

The $53.1 million project, which included a $4.3 million Herrick Street Bridge that improves access to the station, opened on Sept. 22, 2002 after three years of construction.

With 800,000 passengers a year flowing through here, the station is the ninth busiest in Amtrak's system. When it opened 10 years ago, it handled 630,000 passengers and ranked 14th busiest.

Improvements continue. The station's platforms are to be extended so it can accommodate longer trains, and a fourth track, part of the original plan but never built, will be added, with work scheduled to be completed in 2013.

Still, there's been little spillover effect on the rest of Rensselaer. When public officials first began talking of a new station for Amtrak trains, they envisioned a hotel and conference center, as well as retail space.

More Information

The most recent proposal — De Laet's Landing — surfaced more than three years ago. It would include 515 residential units, 165,000 square feet of retail space, 300 hotel rooms, 250,000 square feet of office space, a riverfront esplanade and harbor, and a pedestrian link to the train station.

While Troy-based developer U.W. Marx highlights the project on its website, efforts to reach anyone there for an update weren't successful.

"I think the development opportunities at Rensselaer certainly haven't come to fruition as some thought they would," he said Tuesday afternoon. "It's unfortunate the station is not in Albany, because economic development would have been more robust."

State Department of Transportation officials also are preparing an environmental impact study on the various alternatives for the state's high-speed rail program.

The latest station replaced one completed in 1980, which in turn had replaced one dating back to the days of the Penn Central Railroad and completed in 1968. Both earlier stations have been demolished to make way for the fourth track. Before 1968, Albany's Union Station was the local stop for intercity passenger trains.

The final cost, $53.1 million, was well above the initial estimate of $35 million, and the station opened a year later than planned. Near the end of construction, Amtrak balked at the cost of leasing space, although pressure from public officials resulted in a lease agreement.

Amtrak also leases space from CDTA at the Saratoga Springs rail station the transit agency operates. And CDTA will be the developer for the new train station in downtown Schenectady, to be built within the next two years.

The Rensselaer station has aged well, according to some of those attending Tuesday's event.